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I am in the early stages of planning a trip to Croatia. My idea is to follow the sequence: Dubrovnik- Split- Zadar-Pula- Ljubljana, with side one-day trips to other places such as Korcula, Hvar, Trogir, Plivitce, Rovinj, Porec.

My first question is, Would it be better to do it in mid- September, or early- October?. I like to travel when the summer crowds are gone, and the hotel rates are lower. But, obviously, when the weather is still enjoyable. I intend to travel using Bus, Plane, or ferry to get from place to place.

The second question is: Will Pula be a good place to use as a base to visit other sites in Istria?, or will it be better to stay in Rovinj or Porec?. I need to find a place with good public transportation and still enough to see and enjoy locally.

I am still undecided whether to end my trip in Ljubljana, or perhaps Venice, or even Zagreb, for the final return to USA.

Personally I would go for mid September as the kids will be back at school. Secondly and ferries will still be running a good service. By October a number of ferries are discontinued. I would also suggest you stay in Rovinj as it's situated on the coast in mid Istria so cuts down on your travelling time. Pula on the otherhand is right at the Southern tip of Istria so the places you wish to see will be further away and likely result in your every day trips going North and back again to the South and so on. From Rovinj you will be able to take a bus to the towns e.g. Pula, Porec, Fazana and Brijuni NP. If you wish to see the wonderful hill towns in the interior than you would have to hire a car or take an excursion. To get to Ljubljana, Zagreb there are buses from Pula and possibly a boat from Pula or Rovinj to Venice. The boat schedules for 2014 will not be available until Springtime. However you could get a bus to Trieste and train to Venice.

Have a look at the Pula Tourist information website and click on Transport. This will give you bus timetables and you will be able to see which buses stop in Rovinj. www.pulainfo.hr I would look it up myself but just at the moment I'm too busy.

We arrived in Slovenia August 28th..........We arrived in Croatia Sept.16th and left Cavtat for the States Oct.10th.

We had rental cars........but definitely stay in Rovinj.....going north to south was perfect and by the time we got to Korcula around Oct.1st and then Cavtat Oct.5th......it was quiet. Also our last 3 days in Cavtat the weather was rainy,cloudy,gloomy.

Thanks for all your replies. I am planning to travel for about three weeks. I should consider your comments about making the trip North (Lujbljana) to South (Dubrovnik) . But I may have problems since Slovenia is not an easy place to reach from the US.

The reason I had the idea of staying in Pula instead of Porec and Rovinj, is that Pula is better communicated with the rest of Croatia, it has an airport and is a port on the Croatia ferry system.

It seems like all agree that mid-September could be a better time to go.

Certainly Pula has the best connections for travel in Istria - bus, train and ferries. However Rovinj is only a 45 minute drive to Pula. It depends on what kind of thing you are looking for at the places you stay (apart from transport connections). Pula is the largest town in Istria and has many Roman antiquities but it is a working town and not necessarily a tourist destination. Having said that I love it - but I'm not going for the first time. Rovinj on the other hand is a resort town situated on a peninsular with the sea on three sides. The Old Town is charming and picturesque. Visitors love it because of these qualities so hence it has become very popular. Only you can decide which best suits you and your plans.

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Re: September or October to visit Croatia?

30 Oct 2014, 05:22

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